Sudanese embassy in Yemen attacked by Houthi rebels

Shiite Houthi rebels raise their weapons during clashes near the presidential palace in Sanaa, 19 January 2015 (Hani Mohammed/AP).

Houthi rebels have attacked the Sudanese embassy in the Yemeni capital, after Sudan joined the Saudi led military offensive against the Shiite militants five days ago.

The Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ali Karti, told reporters in Khartoum on Sunday that the attack on the embassy and Sudanese nationals residing in Sanaa are “understandable”.

He indicated that the embassy was moved to a new location, and said that Khartoum is also working to move its nationals living in insecure areas to safer places.

Sudan has put four of its fighter jets at Saudi Arabia’s command, and will deploy 6,000 soldiers to fight the Houthi rebels in the event of a ground war.

Relations with Iran

Karti strongly denied his country’s affiliation with Shiite Iran, saying that the relationship between the two countries “does not exceed the traditional diplomatic framework”.

Israel has accused Sudan of transporting Iranian weapons to Palestine several times in the past couple of years, and reportedly conducted a number of air raids on weapons stores and Iranian arms convoys in the country. Last year, Israeli commandos seized a ship near the Sudanese coast, allegedly loaded with missiles supplied by Iran.